As in most European countries, the Polish market for digital printing is growing fast, both for book and label printing, according to Pawel Szpil, product manager at Reprograf-Grafikus, SCREEN’s distributor and service provider in Poland.
Within months of purchasing a SCREEN Truepress Jet 520HD+, the Polish printing house Azymut, a specialist in academic, medical and technical books, successfully entered the German and Austrian book printing markets, while also significantly increasing its domestic production.
‘The Truepress Jet 520HD+ meets the high standards customers in Germany and Austria expect. Our older generation toner printers could not provide this level of quality,’ said Maciej Szymanski, Director Digital Printing at Azymut. ‘Digital printing and the lower costs of inkjet technology are really fuelling our business growth.’
In addition to its high print quality, Szymanski also praises the 520HD+ for its advanced drying process, allowing printing at high speeds, and its ability to print on a wide variety ofpaper, including standard offset paper. ‘As a direct result, we’ve increased our production volumes, while retaining all the advantages of digital printing and opportunities for personalisation,’ he explained. ‘This machine allows us to compete with offset printing houses. It makes digital printing viable for both medium and large print runs.’
Azymut is a subsidiary of PWN Group, one of Poland’s largest educational book publishers. As well as printing services, it publishes scientific, academic and medical textbooks for doctors and students and also provides logistics and distribution services.
The pandemic has further accelerated demand for digital printing in Poland. As bookstores closed during lockdowns, publishers tried to cut costs by reducing their stocks and switching to print-on-demand. Publishers saw increased demand for a larger number of titles, but in smaller quantities. Szymanski observed, ‘Obviously, Covid had an overall negative impact on the book market, but we have seen new opportunities as sales quickly shifted online. Specialist publications always find an audience, so as a company we’ve not felt a serious impact.’
The overall volume of book printing continues to decrease as readers shift to digital books. But as a result, book print runs are getting smaller, making digital printing more feasible and cost-effective. Szpil said, ‘Digital printing is extremely useful for these smaller print jobs, given its short prepress times and excellent print quality. This is why we see strong and continued growth of digital printing in Poland.’
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